Reports of staff harassment and imprisonment are piling up against ADOR, with NewJeans managers coming forward after the girl group filed for an early termination of their seven-year contract with the agency.
Insiders said the harassment towards the management team began as soon as the quintet made the announcement they were quitting, as reported by Allkpop.
Staff said they were subjected to methods of intimidation, including the confiscation of laptops and intense interrogation.
An anonymous staff member told Allkpop that the treatment was “unbearable”, often leaving the team in tears.
“It was painful to see the damage done not only to the members of NewJeans but also to those around them,” they said.
NewJeans accused ADOR of similar workplace harassment, with member Hanni claiming that the company HYBE had deliberately undermined the team and accused staff members of ignoring her.
In testimony to the Labor Committee of South Korea’s National Assembly, Hanni said that after greeting members of a sister band at the record label, a manager told them to “ignore her.”
“We have a floor in our building where we do hair and makeup. And at that time I was waiting in the hallway because my hair and makeup had been done first,” Hanni recalled of the incident during the hearing.
“I said goodbye to all of them and then they came back about five or ten minutes later. As he walked out, [the manager] he looked me in the eye, turned to the rest of the group and said, “Ignore her like you don’t see her.” I don’t understand why he would say something like that in the workplace.”
Hanni said the incident was not isolated and was just one of many incidents where she felt disrespected, including listening to employees talk trash about NewJeans, as well as claiming the company had contacted a reporter to minimize the group’s record sales in an item.
